UConn star Paige Bueckers has added another Name, Image and Likeness deal to her résumé after agreeing to become the first student-athlete ambassador for the education platform Chegg.
The company announced the partnership on Thursday ahead of UConn’s Final Four matchup against Stanford on Friday. Bueckers, the 2021 National Player of the Year, will work with Chegg’s non-profit arm Chegg.org to raise awareness for the issue of student hunger.
Aided by hunger relief and food recovery company Goodr, the partnership’s efforts will begin during Final Four weekend in Minnesota with the inaugural launch of a free pop-up grocery market in Minneapolis, Bueckers’s hometown.
“As a college sophomore balancing so many things, I’ve always appreciated Chegg’s commitment to meeting students where they are and supporting them in a meaningful way,” Bueckers said in a press release. “I’m thrilled to become Chegg’s first student athlete brand ambassador and for this opportunity to help in the fight against food insecurity which affects too many of my peers and 12 million kids in the U.S.
“While this is the first of several projects in schools with Goodr, it was really important to use the momentum we have around the tournament to raise awareness on the issue and support my hometown of Minneapolis during such an important weekend for our game.”
Bueckers’s latest NIL deal comes just days after the sophomore sensation turned in a 27-point outing to lift UConn past NC State in a thrilling double-overtime victory in the Elite Eight.
Chegg CEO and president Dan Rosensweig expressed his excitement for the deal and the chance to work with Bueckers as she continues her college career.
“We are honored to work with Paige, as she is not only an outstanding athlete but also because she uses her platform to increase access to opportunities for those around her, which is the heart of our brand,” Rosensweig said. “We are proud to sponsor her as our first student athlete and hope our partnership becomes a model for how companies can work with ambassadors to elevate the issues that matter to them most, as they are the issues these students see and experience every day.”
Bueckers’s budding NIL portfolio also includes a historic deal with Gatorade and a pact with global e-commerce platform StockX.